Breakaway athletic safety shoe

ABSTRACT

The athletic safety shoe has an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe and a lower breakaway safety sole having traction means on the underside thereof and releasibly attached to the upper sole by a breakaway safety mechanism. The upper sole has a downwardly extending rib with an enlarged head portion attached to the upper sole by a relatively narrow neck portion. The safety sole has a generally transversely extending grooved track configured to slideably receive the rib. The track prevents longitudinal movement of the soles relative to each other when the rib is disposed in place in the track. The safety sole has a retaining part engaged with the rib adjacent the neck portion to prevent upward movement of the rib out of the track. A pressure piece is engaged with the rib and mounted on the safety sole under the grooved track. A spring biases the pressure piece into frictional engagement with the rib to prevent the rib from sliding in the track until a predetermined transverse force is applied.

United States Patent York [ 51 June 13,1972

[ BREAKAWAY ATHLETIC SAFETY SHOE [72] Inventor: William A. York, 41-56 Denman Street,

Elmhurst, NY. 11373 [22] Filed: Jan. 8, 1971 21 App]. No.: 104,994

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,318,024 5/1967 Fujinaka et a1 ..36/2.5 R

Attorney-Douglas W. Wyatt [57] ABSTRACT The athletic safety shoe has an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe and a lower breakaway safety sole having traction means on the underside thereof and releasibly attached to the upper sole by a breakaway safety mechanism. The upper sole has a downwardly extending rib with an enlarged head portion attached to the upper sole by a relatively narrow neck portion. The safety sole has a generally transversely extending grooved track configured to slideably receive the rib. The track prevents longitudinal movement of the soles relative to each other when the rib is disposed in place in the track. The safety sole has a retaining part engaged with the rib adjacent the neck portion to prevent upward movement of the rib out of the track. A pressure piece is engaged with the rib and mounted on the safety sole under the grooved track. A spring biases the pressure piece into frictional engagement 3,354,561 1 1/1967 Cameron "36/25 R with the rib to prevent the rib from sliding in the track until a 3,466,763 9/ l 969 Levin ..36/2.5 AG predetermined transvexse force is 1 Primary E.\'aminerPatrick D. Lawson 12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures /2 32 /5 2 /6 2 /8b /fi4, 2 20 Z04 2 i kg; L I 45 II 42 34 1 1/ T 72 7 '1 a a w 27 1 60 62 0 fa 55 64 66a PATENTEDJUM 13 1912 r 3, 668, 792

i a 7 i INVENTOR W/44/4M 4. )0(( JOUGA/If w Wm r ATTORNEY BREAKAWAY ATHLETIC SAFETY SHOE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to athletic safety shoes and more particularly toan athletic safety shoe having a safety sole that is adapted to breakaway from the shoe upon the application of a predetermined minimum transverse force.

Athletes use special shoes which have soles with traction enhancing under surfaces in order to provide sure footedness during the movements in sporting events. In sports such as baseball, football, soccer, and rugby the special athletic shoes have cleats which are adapted to dig into the ground to provide the athlete with a sure foot hold.

It is well known that athletes, particularly those engaged in contact sports where cleated shoes are normally used, frequently injure their legs during athletic events because of transverse forces applied to the legs of the athlete when the shoes cannot move or slide sideways on the ground because of the traction elements. These injuries occur because the knee and ankle joints are adapted by nature to bend primarily ina plane which extends in the direction of movement of the athlete and do not bend in a direction normal or 90 to the plane of movement. Accordingly, when a sufficient normal or transverse force is applied to the leg of an athlete, such as when a football player is tackled or blocked from the side, serious injury to the leg frequently occur.

When shoes are used by athletes which dont have traction elements, the application of a transverse force does not as frequently cause injury because the foot is not firmly fixed in one place but can slide to the side at least a small distance whichmay be sufficient to prevent a serious injury. However, athletic shoes that dont have traction enhancing elements are frequently impractical and are also unsafe in many sports because they allow the foot of the user to slide during movements required to effectively participate in the sport.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an athletic safety wherein the safety sole is adapted to breakaway from the shoe at either of the normal pivotpoints of the shoe namely under theheel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer.

It is another object of this invention to provide such an athletic shoe that has a safety sole that may be readily designed for use in different sports and for different size users.

It is still another object of thisinvention to provide such an athletic safety shoe wherein the safety sole is adapted to breakaway from the shoe at either of the normal pivot points of the shoe namely under the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer. r 1

It isa further object of this invention to provide such an athletic safety shoe that is relatively economic to manufacture, simple in construction andreliable in use. 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has now been found that the foregoing objects and advantages can be provided in an athletic safety shoe having an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe and a lower breakaway sole having a traction surface on the underside thereof and releasably attached to the upper sole by a breakaway safety mechanism. One of the soles has a releasable rib extending toward the other sole. The other sole has a grooved track extending generally in a transverse direction and configured to slideably receive the rib. The track prevents longitudinal movement of the soles relative to each other when the rib is disposed in place in the track and the ribs are restrained in the track against upward movement. A pressure piece mounted under the grooved track is frictionally engageable with the rib and spring applies a predetermined pressure biasing the pressure piece into frictional engagement with the rib to prevent the rib from sliding in the track until a predetermined transverse force is applied.

Advantageously, the rib may be formed with an enlarged head portion attached to one of the soles by a relatively narrow neck portion so that upward movement of the rib in the track is prevented by a retaining portion on the other sole engaged with the rib adjacent the neck portion. The location of the track and rib on the soles may be reversed, however, it is preferable to have the track on the safety sole.

The safety sole and the upper sole may releasibly be connected to' each other by a single breakaway safety mechanism or by a pair of such mechanisms located under the normal pivot points of the foot, namely under the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of the athletic shoes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS I Various other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims, and drawings appended hereto wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the breakaway safety athletic shoe of this invention with parts broken away for clarity of illustration of the internal parts;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the breakaway athletic safety shoe taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the underside of the athletic safety shoe as viewed along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the working parts of the heel release of the breakaway athletic I safety shoe of FIG. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the breakaway athleticshoe of this invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, has a conventional upper shoe body 12 which receives and encloses the foot'of the wearer in the usual manner. The shoe 10 has an upper sole l6 molded or integrally constructed with the shoe body 12, and a mating releasable breakaway safety sole 26 of separate construction.

I The safety sole 26 has a plurality of conventional cleats 27 to provide traction for the wearer. In order to releaseably connect the upper sole 16 with the safety sole 26, a pair of downwardly extending transverse rib portions 18 and 20 are provided at the heel and sole areas of the safety sole 26. The

rib portions 18 and 20 may be integrally molded as part of the upper sole 16 or they may be made as separate metal parts attached to the upper sole 16. Each of the ribs have relatively narrow neck portions 18a and 20a relatively wider head portions 18!; and 20b spaced away fromthe under surface 22 of the upper sole 16.

The ribs 18 and 20 have an inverted Tcross-section, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, which is adapted to be releasably disposed in similarly configured mating grooves or tracks 28 and 30 formed in the safety sole 26. The transverse tracks28 and 30 are formed so that the ribs 18 and 20 are transversely slideable therein. The transverse track 28 is formed centrally across the heel portion of the safety sole 26 inaligned relationship with the rib 18 and the transverse track 30 is formed centrally across the sole portion of the safety sole 26 in aligned relationship with the rib 20.

To form the inverted T-shaped tracks 28 and 30 the safety sole 26 has oppositely facing flanges 32 and 34 which extends the length of the transverse tracks 28 and 30 and restrict the top opening thereof to the width of the necks 18a and 20a. When the lower safety sole 26 is attached to the upper sole 16, the flanges 32 and 34 are disposed between the under surface 22 of the upper sole 16 and the heads 18b and 20b thereby attaching the lower sole 26 to the upper sole 16 in a manner whereby longitudinal and vertical movement between the upper sole 16 and the safety sole 26 is prevented. However, this construction allows the safety sole 26 to slide to one side or the other relative to the upper sole 16 when a transverse force is applied. I

The transverse tracks 28 and 30 may be integrally formed in the lower sole by being molded therein or the tracks 28 and 30 may be made as a metal insert fitted into the body of the safety sole 26. To prevent the heads 18b and 20b from pulling upwardly out of the tracks 28 and 30, when the lower sole 26 and flanges 32 and 34 are made of a resilient material such as rubber, the flanges 32 and 34 may be reinfonned with metal jackets 36 and 38.

The safety sole 26 is releasibly retained on the upper sole 16 during normal use by a pair of safety release mechanisms having spring biased plates 40 and 42 disposed in suitable apertures in the body of the safety sole under the tracks 28 and 30. The plates 40 and 42 frictionally engage the heads 18b and 20b to releasibly hold the lower sole 26 in place.

The upper surface of the plates 40 and 42 are generally fiat and mate with the similarly configured under surface of the heads 18b and 20b. Movement of the lower sole 26 relative to the upper sole 16 can only occur when a transverse force is applied which is sufficient to overcome the frictional resistance created by the pressure of the plates 41 and 42 against the heads 18b and 20b.

The friction plates 40 and 42 are biased against the heads 18b and 20b by compression springs 44-and 46 disposed under the plates 40 and 42 which press the plates into frictional engagement with the heads 18b and 20b. The springs 44 and 46 are designed to apply a predetermined pressure to hold the safety sole in place during normal use in accordance with the weight of the wearer and the requirements for the particular sport that the user is engaged in. The amount of transverse forcethat will be required to release the lower sole 26 will'be determined by the strength of the compression springs 44 and 46, the type of a surface on the mating parts of the heads 18b and 20b andpressure plates 40 and'42, and the surface area of the mating parts. In designing the shoe for a particular use, these parameters may be varied to effect a release of the safety sole 26 when a certain minimum transverse force is applied.

Desirably, the safety shoe 10 is constructed in the manner shown in FIG. 1 which allows the safety sole 26 to readily break away when a sufficient transverse'force is directly applied at either of the normal pivot points of the foot of the wearer, namely, under the heel and under the ball of the foot. The point of application of the transverse force on the shoe 10 will vary as the weight of the user shifts from heel to toe during normal forward movement. For less demanding sports, a single release mechanism, of the construction illustrated in FIG. 4, may be provided on the shoe 10 centrally under the arch of the wearer to effect a safety release when a minimum transverse force is applied.

The compression springs 44 and 46 are disposed invertical chambers 48 and 50 in the central body of the safety sole 26 and extend upwardly from the under surface 52 of the safety sole 26 to the underside of the friction plates 40 and 42. The undersideof the compression springs 44 and 46 are supported by locking devices in the form of pivotably mounted plugs 54 and'56 which fit into the chambers 48 and 50 in the area adjacent the under surface 52 of the safety sole 26. The plugs 54 and 56 are pivotably mounted on one side by hinges 58 and 60 secured to the safety sole 26. During normal use the plugs 54 and 56 are fixed in place by spring loaded locking pins 62 and 64. As best seen in FIG. 4, the pins 62 and 64 extend between bores 65 and 65a in the plugs 54 and 56 and aligned bores 66 and 66a'in the adjacent portion of the safety sole 26. A pair of springs 68 and 68a bias the locking pins 62 and 64 into the bores 66 and 66a in the lower sole.

The bores 66 and 66a in the lower sole are configured to retain the locking pins 62 and 64 in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 during normal use. To provide for releasing the safety sole 26 from the upper sole 16 for repair or other reasons longitudinal cylindrical release channels 70 and 72 are formed in the safety sole 26 and extend from the front and back of the safety sole 26 to the bores 66 and 66a. The release channels 70 and 72 are aligned with the locking pins 62 and 64 but are of a smaller cross-section so that the pins 62 and 64 are unable to enter the channels 70 and 72. The plugs 54 and 56 may be opened in order to release the retaining pressure on the ribs l8and by inserting a tool in the form of a dowel into the channels 70 and 72 to move the pins 62 and 64 to the interior of the plug bores 65 and 65a whereby the plugs 54 and 56 may be readily rotated andthe safety sole released. The springs 44 and 46 may thus be readily replaced with other springs of different strength to adapt the shoe for a particular sport or ground condition. The handles 74 on the plugs 54 and 4 56 are provided for facile closing of the plugs against the bias of the springs 44 and 46.

It will be understood that the foregoing description with the details of exemplary structure is not to be construed in any way to limit the invention, but that modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. An athletic safety shoe including an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe; a lower breakaway safety solehaving traction means on the undersidethereof, saidsafety sole being releasibly attached to said upper sole by a breakaway safety mechanism wherein one of said soles has a release rib extending toward the other sole; said other sole having a grooved track extending generally in a transverse direction and configured to slidably receive said rib, said grooved track preventing longitudinal movement of said soles relative to each other when said rib is disposed in place in said track; retaining means preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track; a pressure piece frictionally engageable with said rib and mounted in said other soleunder said grooved track; and biasing means mounted on'said other sole applying a predetermined pressure biasing said pressure piece into frictional engagement with said rib to prevent said rib from sliding in said track until a minimum predetermined transverse force is applied.

2. The athletic safety shoe of claim 1 wherein said retaining means preventing upward movement of said rib out-of said track includes said rib formed with an enlarged head portion attached to said one of said soles by a relatively narrow neck portion and a retaining part on said other sole engaged with said rib adjacent said neck portion to prevent said upward movement.

3. The athletic safety shoe of claim 2 wherein said safety sole and said upper sole are releasably attached to each other by breakaway safety mechanisms at both the pivot points of said shoe at the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of said athletic shoe.

4. The athletic safety shoe of claim 2 wherein said 'rib is T- shaped and wherein said grooved track is similarly configured to receive said rib to prevent upward movement of said rib out of said grooved trac I v 5. The athletic safety shoe of claim 4 wherein said biasing means is a compression spring mounted in said other sole supported on one side by a movable plug, and wherein locking means hold said plug in a fixed position, said locking means being releasable so that said compression spring may be replaced.

6. An athletic safety shoe including an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe; a lower breakaway safety sole having traction means on the underside thereof, said safety sole being releasably attached tosaid upper sole; one of said soles has a release rib extending toward the other sole, said rib having an enlarged head portion attached to said one of said soles by a relatively narrow neck portion; said other sole having a grooved track extending generally in a transverse direction and configured to slidably receive said rib, said grooved track preventing longitudinal movement of said soles relative to each other when said rib is disposed in place in said track; said safety sole having a retaining part engageable with said rib adjacent said neck portion preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track; a pressure piece frictionally engageable with said rib and mounted in I said other sole under said grooved track; and biasing means mounted on said other sole applying a predetermined pressure biasing said pressure piece intofrictional engagement with said rib to prevent said rib from sliding in said track until a minimum predetermined transverse force is applied.

7. The athletic safety shoe of claim 6 wherein said safety sole and said upper sole are releasibly attached to each other by breakaway safety mechanisms at both of the pivot points of said shoe under the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of said athletic shoe.

8. The athletic safety shoe of claim 7 wherein said rib is T- shaped and wherein said grooved track is similarly configured to receive said rib to prevent upward movement of said rib out of said grooved track.

9. The athletic safety shoe of claim 8 wherein said biasing means is a compression spring mounted in said safety sole and supported on one side by a movable plug and wherein locking means hold said plug in a fixed position, said locking means being releasable so that said compression spring may be replaced.

10. An athletic safety shoe including an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe; a lower breakaway safety sole having a traction means on the underside thereof, said safety sole being releasibly attached to said upper sole; said upper sole has a downwardly extending rib with an enlarged head portion attached to said upper sole by a relatively narrow neck portion; said safety sole having a generally transversely extending grooved track configured to slidably receive said rib, said track preventing longitudinal movement of said soles relative to each other when said rib is disposed in place in said track;

said safety sole having a retaining part engageable with said rib adjacent said neck portion preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track; a pressure piece engageable with said rib and mounted in said safety sole under said grooved track; and biasing means mounted in said safety sole applying a predetermined pressure urging said pressure piece into frictional engagement with said rib to prevent said rib from sliding in said track until a minimum predetermined transverse force is applied.

11. The athletic safety shoe of claim 10 wherein said safety sole and said upper sole are releasibly attached to each other by breakaway safety mechanisms at both of the pivot points of said shoe under the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of said athletic shoe.

12. The athletic safety shoe of claim 11 wherein said rib is T-shaped and wherein said grooved track is similarly configured to receive said rib to prevent upward movement of said rib out of said grooved track. 

1. An athletic safety shoe including an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe; a lower breakaway safety sole having traction means on the underside thereof, said safety sole being releasibly attached to said upper sole by a breakaway safety mechanism wherein one of said soles has a release rib extending toward the other sole; said other sole having a grooved track extending generally in a transverse direction and configured to slidably receive said rib, said grooved track preventing longitudinal movement of said soles relative to each other when said rib is disposed in place in said track; retaining means preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track; a pressure piece frictionally engageable with said rib and mounted in said other sole under said grooved track; and biasing means mounted on said other sole applying a predetermined pressure biasing said pressure piece into frictional engagement with said rib to prevent said rib from sliding in said track until a minimum predetermined transverse force is applied.
 2. The athletic safety shoe of claim 1 wherein said retaining means preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track includes said rib formed with an enlarged head portion attached to said one of said soles by a relatively narrow neck portion and a retaining part on said other sole engaged with said rib adjacent said neck poRtion to prevent said upward movement.
 3. The athletic safety shoe of claim 2 wherein said safety sole and said upper sole are releasably attached to each other by breakaway safety mechanisms at both the pivot points of said shoe at the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of said athletic shoe.
 4. The athletic safety shoe of claim 2 wherein said rib is T-shaped and wherein said grooved track is similarly configured to receive said rib to prevent upward movement of said rib out of said grooved track.
 5. The athletic safety shoe of claim 4 wherein said biasing means is a compression spring mounted in said other sole supported on one side by a movable plug, and wherein locking means hold said plug in a fixed position, said locking means being releasable so that said compression spring may be replaced.
 6. An athletic safety shoe including an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe; a lower breakaway safety sole having traction means on the underside thereof, said safety sole being releasably attached to said upper sole; one of said soles has a release rib extending toward the other sole, said rib having an enlarged head portion attached to said one of said soles by a relatively narrow neck portion; said other sole having a grooved track extending generally in a transverse direction and configured to slidably receive said rib, said grooved track preventing longitudinal movement of said soles relative to each other when said rib is disposed in place in said track; said safety sole having a retaining part engageable with said rib adjacent said neck portion preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track; a pressure piece frictionally engageable with said rib and mounted in said other sole under said grooved track; and biasing means mounted on said other sole applying a predetermined pressure biasing said pressure piece into frictional engagement with said rib to prevent said rib from sliding in said track until a minimum predetermined transverse force is applied.
 7. The athletic safety shoe of claim 6 wherein said safety sole and said upper sole are releasibly attached to each other by breakaway safety mechanisms at both of the pivot points of said shoe under the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of said athletic shoe.
 8. The athletic safety shoe of claim 7 wherein said rib is T-shaped and wherein said grooved track is similarly configured to receive said rib to prevent upward movement of said rib out of said grooved track.
 9. The athletic safety shoe of claim 8 wherein said biasing means is a compression spring mounted in said safety sole and supported on one side by a movable plug and wherein locking means hold said plug in a fixed position, said locking means being releasable so that said compression spring may be replaced.
 10. An athletic safety shoe including an upper sole mounted on the body of the shoe; a lower breakaway safety sole having a traction means on the underside thereof, said safety sole being releasibly attached to said upper sole; said upper sole has a downwardly extending rib with an enlarged head portion attached to said upper sole by a relatively narrow neck portion; said safety sole having a generally transversely extending grooved track configured to slidably receive said rib, said track preventing longitudinal movement of said soles relative to each other when said rib is disposed in place in said track; said safety sole having a retaining part engageable with said rib adjacent said neck portion preventing upward movement of said rib out of said track; a pressure piece engageable with said rib and mounted in said safety sole under said grooved track; and biasing means mounted in said safety sole applying a predetermined pressure urging said pressure piece into frictional engagement with said rib to prevent said rib from sliding in said track until a minimum predetermined transverse force is applied.
 11. The athletic safety shoe of claim 10 wherein said safety sole and said upper sole Are releasibly attached to each other by breakaway safety mechanisms at both of the pivot points of said shoe under the heel and under the ball of the foot of the wearer of said athletic shoe.
 12. The athletic safety shoe of claim 11 wherein said rib is T-shaped and wherein said grooved track is similarly configured to receive said rib to prevent upward movement of said rib out of said grooved track. 